How to Change Your Email Address (and the Best Way to Do It)

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Everything you need to know about switching email accounts
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Changing email addresses can be a frustrating experience. Since most email services don't allow you to change your email address, you'll need to create an all-new account and then migrate your information over. By setting up proper forwarding and informing people of the change, you can make the process much easier on your sanity. After making the switch, keep your old account active for a while to ensure that you receive every important message and don't get locked out of any online accounts.

Can I Change My Email Address?

For Yahoo Mail Plus subscribers, you can add aliases to change your email address with another; for Outlook and Gmail accounts, you can add other emails to the email client so you can see messages from another address. If you're using a Google Workspace email account, you can most likely change the email name.

Section 1 of 6:

Can I change my Gmail address?

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  1. An @gmail.com account usually cannot be changed. You can check, however, to see if you can change it; emails in Google Workspace are changeable. Go to your Google account , click Personal Info > Email > Your email address under "Google Account email" . If you don't see a pencil icon next to it, you can't change this.
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Section 2 of 6:

Can I change my Microsoft email address?

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  1. You can add or update email aliases, but not your primary email address. To do this, go to your Microsoft account page and click Remove , Add or Make primary to change what emails you're using in Microsoft services, like Outlook, Windows, Skype, and OneDrive. [2]
Section 3 of 6:

Can I change my Yahoo email address?

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  1. You cannot change your Yahoo. However, you might be able to create disposable email accounts. You'll only have access to disposable emails if you subscribe to Yahoo Mail Plus, which isn't available in every region. [3]
    • If you subscribe to Yahoo Mail Plus, follow these steps to create a disposable email :
      • Open Settings > More settings .
      • Select Mailboxes > Add (under "Disposable emails". If you don't see that, then you're unable to continue.
      • Enter a permanent nickname, display name, and description for that disposable email.
      • Click Confirm > Save .
      • Create a filter for that disposable email. For example, if you want another email address for a monthly newsletter, you can make the nickname something like "MonthlyNewsletters"; and then create a filter so every email from the monthly newsletter address is sent directly to another folder. [4]
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Section 4 of 6:

Creating a New Email Address

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  1. The process is a little different for each service, but basically you'll just need to go to the service's home page and click the "Sign Up" or "Create Account" button. From there, you'll be prompted to create an account name and enter some basic information. Below are some links to wikiHow guides on creating accounts for the more popular services:
    • Make a Google Account - Each Google Account includes 15 GB of storage, which is shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos. To add to your storage quota, you can purchase a Google One membership, where available. [5]
    • Set up a Yahoo! Mail Account - Yahoo! Mail has 1 TB of free mail storage.
    • Create a Hotmail Account (Outlook.com) - You get 15 GB of free Outlook.com email storage, which is separate from your Microsoft cloud storage. You have 5 GB of free cloud storage with your Microsoft account shared across your files and photos in OneDrive, attachments in Outlook.com, and your Microsoft 365 apps.
  2. If you're creating a new account because your old one has a name that feels too outdated, try to create a new account that you'll always be able to use. Try sticking to just your name, and avoid using a name based on a fad or your current interest, as those are likely to change over the years.
  3. Your email password is usually one of your most important passwords. If someone has access to your email account, they'll likely be able to gain access to any accounts you've created with it. This means you'll want a secure password that no one will be able to guess, and that you don't use anywhere else. Try to include upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols.
  4. Two-factor authentication is an extra layer of security that will help prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to your account. When you try to log in from a new computer or device, a code will be sent to your mobile device that you'll need to enter to log in. This prevents intruders from logging in if they don't have physical access to your phone. Most major email providers have a form of two-factor authentication that you can enable from the Security section of your account settings.
  5. Once you create your account, you'll be taken to your new inbox. Take a few minutes to get used to how the interface is laid out. Most email services are very similar, with your folders or labels listed along the left side of the window.
  6. If you use an email client like Outlook, you'll need to log in with your new email account. See Set Up Microsoft Outlook for instructions on adding your new email address to Outlook.
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Section 5 of 6:

Tips for Transitioning to Your New Address

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  1. Send out an email from your new email address informing your important contacts of your new address. You can keep the message brief, such as "Hi everyone, this is my new email address. Please add it to your contacts!" Sending it from your new address makes it easy for recipients to update their address books. [6]
    • You may want to send different messages to different groups of people. Many email services allow you to group contacts. Create a few different groups, such as "Work," "Family," and "Friends," and then send the messages to the groups instead of individual contacts.
  2. Chances are you've used your email address to set up a variety of accounts online over the years. In order to ensure that you'll still have access to these accounts once you transition email addresses, you'll need to update your account information for each one. If you use a password manager like LastPass or your web browser's password manager, you can use the list of stored passwords to determine which accounts you need to update.
    • Start with the most important accounts first, including your online banking, utilities, social media, and online store accounts. Then make sure all of your other accounts are changed as well, including forum accounts and other less-important accounts.
    • See Change Your Email Address on Facebook for instructions on changing your address in Facebook.
    • See Change Your Email Address on LinkedIn for instructions on changing your LinkedIn email address.
    • See Change Your Email Address on wikiHow for instructions for changing your email address here at wikiHow.
  3. Many email services allow you to import your old email accounts, which will automatically transfer your contacts and messages. This can save you a lot of effort, and you won't have to worry about messages or contacts being forgotten.
    • In Gmail, click the Gear button and select "Settings." Click the "Accounts and Import" tab, and then click "Import mail and contacts." Follow the prompts to load your old account. Once you've added your old account, you can even send mail from the old address using Gmail.
    • In Yahoo Mail, click the Gear button and select "Settings." Click the "Accounts" tab on the left side of the window. Click "Add another mailbox" and then follow the prompts to add your old account. Yahoo Mail supports Gmail, Outlook, AOL, and other Yahoo accounts. Once you've added an account, you can send mail using your new or old address.
    • In Outlook.com, Click the Gear button and select "Connected accounts." Click the "Gmail" button to add a Gmail account, or the "Other email" button to add any other account. If you add an email account, you'll be able to send mail from either your Outlook.com address or your old address.
  4. In order to access your contacts from your new email account, you may need to export them from your old account first. When you export your contacts, you'll be given a file that contains all of your contacts' information. You'll then be able to import this file in your new account.
  5. Once you've exported your contacts from your old service, you can import them into your new service. The process for this will vary depending on the email service you are using now. Some email services, such as Gmail and Yahoo, allow you to import contacts directly from another web-mail service without having to export them first.
  6. In order to ensure that you receive all of your messages, you'll want to set up mail forwarding on your old email service. This will make sure that any messages sent to your old address are still delivered to you in case you forgot to update an address for an account or a contact didn't get your message about your new address.
    • The process for forwarding email will vary depending on your service. Generally, you'll find the forwarding settings in the Settings menu of your email service. You may have multiple options, such as keeping copies of forwarded messages on the original account, or deleting them as they're forwarded to your new account.
    • See Forward Gmail for instructions on forwarding mail from Gmail.
    • See Forward Yahoo Mail for instructions on forwarding mail in Yahoo.
  7. Once you've got your new address set up and forwarding configured for your old address, you can add your new address to your mobile devices. This will allow you to send and receive your mail on the go. The process is different for Android and iOS:
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Section 6 of 6:

Getting Rid of Your Old Address

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  1. You may not need to delete your old email address. In fact, leaving it online with proper forwarding will help ensure that you don't miss any important emails in the months following your switch.
    • There may be no harm in keeping an old address, especially if it's free. You can always use your old address to sign up for mailing lists and other less important accounts, which can help minimize spam on your new account.
    • Keeping your old email account can be very useful if you need to log into an online account you set up with it that you forgot to transition to your new email. If you delete your old account before making the change, you may be locked out without the ability to manage it.
  2. Many email services allow you to set up an "out of office" or "vacation" message. Use this to automatically inform senders that you have a new email address. You may not want to do this if you get a lot of spam on your old account, as the spam senders will automatically see your new address.
    • See Use Email Autoresponders for information on setting up an auto-reply.
  3. If you want to permanently delete your old email account, you can do so once you're sure everything is being sent to your new address. Remember, it may be better to leave the old account active in case you need to access another account set up with it. Deleting email accounts is permanent, and you won't be able to reactivate it once it's gone.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    What should I do if I never receive the code to change my email address?
    Community Answer
    The code might have been sent to the secondary email address you have registered with your account. If not, you may also check your spam folder. As a last resort, you can always contact your email provider's customer service.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
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    Not Helpful 4 Helpful 17
  • Question
    I'm moving from Germany to UK 01.07.2016. How do I change my email address?
    Community Answer
    You just make a new account, and you can easily restore any important information.
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  • Question
    How can I change my email password?
    Community Answer
    If you have another e-mail address or phone number associated with the account, you can just select "Forgot Password" at the logon screen.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/19870?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&oco=0#zippy=%2Cget-help-changing-your-email-address
      2. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/change-the-email-address-or-phone-number-for-your-microsoft-account-761a662d-8032-88f4-03f3-c9ba8ba0e00b
      3. ↑ https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN28815.html
      4. ↑ https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN28815.html
      5. ↑ https://support.google.com/googleone/answer/9312312?hl=en ).
      6. ↑ http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000810.htm

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